When numbers get serious, most Mac users turn to Microsoft Excel. But is the latest version of Microsoft’s spreadsheet worth the the upgrade? Matt Neuburg looks at Excel 98 to answer that question. Also this week, Adam explores issues surrounding the Quicken debacle and uncovers a Macintosh personal finance package that’s still alive. Finally, announcements of new software releases include Eudora Pro 4.0.1, HyperCard 2.4, Dreamweaver 1.2, AutoShare 2.2, and Assimilator 2.0.
Eudora Pro 4.0.1 Updater Released -- Qualcomm has released a free updater that takes Eudora Pro 4.0 to version 4.0.1. Although the update adds few new features, it includes many small tweaks, including vastly improved find performance within the Filters window, improved HTML parsing and performance, better nickname completion performance, and the capability to send copies of both styled and plain text in a single message using MIME
Apple Releases HyperCard 2.4 -- After a two year lull, Apple has released an incremental upgrade to HyperCard, its venerable authoring and scripting tool
New Virtual Desktop -- After the mention of Virtual Desktop in "Monitor Shielding and Background" in TidBITS-426, Ross Brown of AWOL Software Productions advises us that you need Virtual Desktop 1.9.2, not 1.9.1, for compatibility with Mac OS 8.0 and 8.1
Dreamweaver 1.2 Update Available -- Macromedia's latest update to the $299 Dreamweaver, Web authoring software that supports modern features such as cascading style sheets and animated buttons, continues to tempt designers
CE Sells QuickConference -- CE Software has announced that the Iowa-based Prairie Group will take over development and sales of QuickConference IP, instant messaging software that evolved from CE's long-standing QuickMail email software
PageSpinner Extension Spins Sites -- Fans of the HTML editor PageSpinner should note Optima System's new Site Assistant 1.0, a PageSpinner extension that streamlines site-related operations
AutoShare 2.2 Released -- Mikael Hansen has released AutoShare 2.2, a freeware mailing list manager and autoresponder. Version 2.2 adds compatibility with the just-released Eudora Internet Mail Server 2.1, enhancements to the AppleScript dictionary, and process extenders
Resistance Is Futile... You Will Be Assimilated -- Stairways Software has released the shareware Assimilator 2.0, which helps manage groups of Macs in situations such as student labs, testing labs, and stores that rent Macs to the public
Last week's announcement that Intuit was ceasing development of Quicken for Macintosh due to declining sales fostered a slew of negative reactions (see "Intuit Drops Quicken for Macintosh" in TidBITS-426)
To call Microsoft Excel a spreadsheet program is rather like calling the Grand Canyon a gully. Like the Grand Canyon, Excel is huge; it seems a rugged and forbidding place, but in reality it's full of power and beauty, much of which is concealed, and accessible only with a certain amount of labor